New Age: Knights Rising
by The Renegade Kingslayer
Summary: In a new era of Knights, a champion of the region and the most elite school must defend his title while also making sure the next age of upcoming students are strong enough to maintain the standard Knights are known to hold. Will he succeed in maintaining his titles or will dark groups be their demise? Rated M for Language among other things. (SYOC)
1. A beginning to all things

"The battle between Arceus and Necrozma is as old as the world being created. Many legendaries picked their sides as they fought for control of the Hall of Origin. Some scribes say the fights waged back and forth, others say that it got so bad that the world as we know it. Pangea soon became the very continents that we live upon today. The world was brought to the brink of destruction until Arceus, with the help of Dialga, Palkia and Giratina, defeat what was called Ultra Necrozma." There was a pause. "Time passed and Knights were needed, in order for the legends to keep living on. They either bound themselves to humans or weapons. Souls mingling and a chance to live on for ages to come as civilization continued to live on and advance. Such is the greatness of Humanity."

Another pause. "As we approach the new age, Arceus had given the defeated Necrozma a choice, a chance to live a new life or to suffer life confined in a weapon only to be shattered soon after. Being a realist, Necrozma of course sought a second chance. While it was matter of revenge seeking or not, Arceus had made sure that things would be different. Despite evil being a constant, some legendaries being lost to the Hall for centuries and certain groups rising up, this was one thing that would succeed after years of insurgent wars causing what was once referred to as North America into what is now called New America, dubbed the region of ascension. Wiping its memory entirely, Necrozma was made into a human being, reborn into a normal life up until the very day when all would be remembered. Rumor has it, the person attends the most prestigious Academy in the very center of New America."

The voice seemed to be lost in thought. "Hmmm, I can't quite remember the name of it but it's where people from the 8 Points are offered enrollment. And what are the 8 points you ask? Silly, that's referring to the 8 major cities in which there are the 8 strongest members of their city who must be beaten in order to challenge the champion of the land. Each Leader has their own school that they oversee and those that challenge them must go through trials before they face the leader. But that's not what brought you here, is it?" A clink and a click, the flame of a lighter and a cigarette being lit. If one were observant enough, they'd have noticed the slight red and black markings on the person's body and a few hints of gold.

"No, you're here to prove yourself the best there ever is. But what will be proven is if your claims are held true or if you'll crash and burn from your own arrogance. Can you stand toe to toe with the champion and his Elites?"

**Update: OC form has been moved to my profile. **

**A side note, depending on what you pick, there may be room for Mega Evolutions, but only for those with Souls and based on the level of detail. Aspects are more likely to receive a second special technique and/or a second weapon. Also, any mythical pokemon (soul or Aspect) are up for discussion but only if there's real effort put into it. I don't care if this is split between a post or two. It doesn't have to be extremely long, but substantial enough to accurately depict your character. Put forth all your effort into this. Please send all forms via PM with the subject line : Knights Rising (Insert OC Name here). Anything that doesn't read that after this post will not be considered immediately**

**And as an incentive, top 8 submissions will receive special abilities and top four will be designated the Champion's Elite Four.**

**I really shouldn't have to put this in here, but I will not tolerate anything regarding reviews being used for anything other than being reviews. I may not be able to control what is said, but I can deny or decide to overlook submissions. Reviews are meant to be used as true constructive criticism, not a chance to necessarily nitpick at every little thing.**


	2. An Intruder and an Introduction

"_And that's why you'll be..." When he looked up to meet the owner of the voice, he saw a blade pierce the faceless being's chest. Scrambling to his feet, he ran from his assailant. However as he began running, more of those faceless humanoids began chasing after him, surrounding him._

"_Give it up, you're nothing without me." It spoke, it's voice resounding through the relative area. "Give in and I'll see to it that you become the strongest there ever is."_

"_Are you stupid?" He called out. "You're willing to die with me just to prove a goddamn point?" Those faceless just coming closer. It wasn't long before when he went to move, his body locked up, as if suddenly paralyzed. He was swarmed, he felt parts of his body being taken off of him. While it didn't hurt, he felt them missing nonetheless until he was released, missing patches of skin a few fingers and toes. He wasn't sure what else he was missing, but he couldn't see out of his right eye for some reason._

"_As long as you deny who you are, they will continue to eat away at you...or shall I say us...Leo." Right before the mysterious blade pierced his chest, he could see multiples of himself, those that had faces had copies of his. Pain radiated through his body as life slowly slipped from his body._

He soon woke up, wiping his brow as he rose from his bed. Leo Cromwell, a 23 year old male, sighed as he got up. Despite his crazy dream, it had woken him up before his much needed alarm clock. Walking into his master bathroom he took a look at himself: a near six foot tall stature, his sun kissed tan skin complementing his somewhat grey hair that was cut a bit short and slicked back, showing all of his face and his light brown eyes. A round face and an equally round nose and a goatee around his lips certainly made him look older than what he actually was given his hair color. Perhaps it was stress or perhaps it was genetics, he really didn't care since he'd just blame the both of them.

Suddenly, his phone rang, blaring out the chorus from one of his favorite upbeat songs, Together by Deon Custom. It might have been an older song from before the latest war but it was perfect for this age of music. He'd rushed to his phone, answering it. "Hello?" His relatively deep voice rang.

"Yes, Mr. Cromwell. This is-"

"Yes, I'd know that voice anywhere. What's up, Lyra?"

"Well..." She started. "The current champion...he's gone missing. You haven't seen him around have you?"

"I mean, no not really aside from just chatting over texts or phone calls. We weren't necessarily extremely close, but friendly enough. Why do you ask?" Leo asked, worriedly.

"I'll explain it later. Just make sure you get to the ceremony on time for the start of the summer semester." Lyra stated before hanging up.

Glancing over at his closet, he saw his attire for the day before prepping for his shower. "It's not like the champ to head off like this. I hope nothing bad happened."

Atherion Academy, located in Chicago, Illinois near the downtown area was a school of many opportunities. Some could become full fledged and Licensed Knights, others could focus down specific career paths such as Nurses or join the police Knight task forces that were popping up around the region. With the increase in violence and rebel groups that named missing legendaries as their "gods", there was a growing need for protecting those who could not fully protect themselves against an enemy such as that. And thankfully with plenty of funding, Atherion Academy put out the most successful Knights and Nurses the last few years. It had always been somewhere for the elite, but with scholarships, grants and personal tests from test proctors, it was inclusive of those not necessarily swimming in money.

It was these principles that Lyra Strøh found herself as one of the leading faculty members at the Academy. She'd only graduated a few years ago, but she was considered for head of the nursing staff and for the Support Master class. Because of this, it wasn't uncommon for the Academy to ask alumni to join their faculty, but it was when it came from the Champion, especially when he was just suddenly missing.

Staring out the window of her the meeting room, Lyra looked at the trees all around the campus, the hustle and bustle of the various students returning from their small breaks. With a mixture of high school and college students, the campus was large enough to house such a wide group of ages and to keep target ages dorming with each other.

While lost in thought, she looked at herself in her reflection. Donned in a white shortsleeved button up shirt and a black skirt that reached her knees, Lyra stood 5'4 and was considered the definition of beauty itself by those who found themselves enamored with her. Her lengthy hair, which reached to the middle of her back, was a perfect crimson. Her equally piercing sapphire colored pupils only seemed to compliment her features along with her fair skin. Being 25, Lyra was very attractive, her formal clothing only accentuating her curves. The only thing she hated about such formal wear were the shoes, a pair of black heels that often left her feet uncomfortable after a long time.

There was a knock at the door sooner than later as she drifted off into her thoughts. In walked Leo, a man who had graduated with high remarks from the previous champion of the school. "Mr. Cromwell, I've been expecting you."

**Later**

Rather than hold the summer announcements outside in the exceptional heat, the school decided to hold it in their largest arena, which was dubbed The Colosseum. Since news like this was important, news crews that had been invited were also there. Apparently, there was news that had to be shared with the entire city, but what it was had yet to be revealed. A lone podium stood in the middle of the marble flooring where Lyra soon stood. With a microphone in hand and Jumbotron above her, she'd be seen and heard clearly.

"Welcome students, faculty and invited guests." Lyra began. "I know nothing too special occurs during the summer, as usually this is the time to relax or have a bit of fun but unfortunately we have run into a bit of trouble. Our champion of 6 years, Lucian Stark, has...retired in favor of traveling the world, visiting the other Regions. It's a bit lesser known fact, but he was also the champion of our Region as a whole."

There were a plethora of gasps and murmurs around her, even a few flashes from cameras and the various news crews. "In spite of this, Lucian has left us with a capable replacement, someone who was nearly his equal. May I present to you our new Champion, Leo Cromwell."

There was a burst of digital confetti that dropped from the ceiling, projectors placed all round the arena giving off a realistic shower of paper without there being any sort of mess. And what was a lone stage was suddenly a stage of two, the grey haired man just appearing out of nowhere, wearing a white dress shirt and black slacks with a pair of black dress shoes on his feet. "It's a pleasure to serve as the Champion of this school. After all, Stark and I used to go waaay back and I have a feeling he's getting back at me for something I've said in the past." He chuckled to himself, finding a bit of composure before continuing. "Anyhow, I hope that this summer will allow you to strengthen your skills and-"

"I challenge you to a battle for the title!" A voice screamed. Everyone seemed to shift to the owner of the voice, but they were nowhere to be seen. Their relatively distorted voice echoed throughout the building.

"Sorry, not really accepting outside challenges. Besides, I'm really only fighting winners of upcoming specific school tournaments. Besides, you don't even go here if you're not aware of the school's rules." Leo said, slowly rubbing his temple.

"You don't get much of a say in this, traitor." The distorted voice could be heard behind him. In response, he simply sighed as a pair of knives were flung at him. Sidestepping out of the way, Leo noticed that Lyra had backed off to a secure location, giving range to let loose should he need to. "Our leader sends their regards." A hooded figure burst from the shadows, thrusting their right hand forward as a sudden black orb appeared.

It was a quick twist and pivot of his body and by all means much faster than anyone had ever seen as Leo's bare fist met the close range Shadow Ball, causing a small scale explosion, one that created plenty of smoke around the two. When it finally cleared, the figure still cloaked, but their right arm was revealed, a purple sleeve being shown. Leo on the other hand had been missing the right side of his white dress shirt was in tatters

"You're gonna wish you hadn't done that." Leo said with a glint in his eyes.

**Elsewhere**

"Damn it, I'm late."

"Well gee, I wonder why it took so long seeing your..._our_ counselor."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"I'm just saying that if you wanted to go to a marriage counselor to solve our issues, then we should have started off there, dummy. Although, we did meet that chick with her hellhound Aspect so it's not a total loss."

"Bugger off, you stupid land shark."

"Love you too, buddy."

Raphael Evermore had been running for a good 5 minutes to the other side of the campus, hoping his appointment hadn't run too long. Apparently, there was a school wide announcement that was said to change things.

"You know they aren't going to pick you as a champion, right?"

Raphael glared at the annoying companion that sat atop his shoulder. Said companion was, for better or worse, his Aspect with no name that had become Garchomp. In its current state, it had shrunk down to a smaller size for easier transportation. "And why is that?" He asked, a hint of annoyance and anger clear in his voice.

"No offense, I think we're one of the best here, but given students _or_ staff can be champion, I'm pretty sure they picked someone...more reliable so to speak." Garchomp said.

"Huh….how come you're never this logical when we're in battle?" Raphael asked with a raised eyebrow, honestly surprised.

"That's different, I rather enjoy the heat of the moment. The logical stuff is all on you, Raph."

Raphael shook his head as he slowed down to a walk, shifting past someone who was walking too slow. He was handsome in his own right, and the English accent that was shared between himself and his Aspect only added to his attractiveness despite his rugged looks. Standing at 6'1, his muscular form could be seen from his clothes, which consisted of a plain black shirt with the top three buttons undone, a black blazer that managed to hang from his shoulders, and navy blue pants and shoes. With his diamond shaped face, a pointed nose, and large sharp eyes with dark brown pupils, it only added to Raphael's rugged looks with a pair of small narrow eyebrows and a fresh stubble framing his chin. His black hair closely resembled a bad case of bed head that managed to fit his overall looks.

Pulling his phone from his pocket, Raphael picked up his pace once more. "Anyway, let's hurry up and get to the announcement. It hopefully hasn't ended ye-"

"Don't even waste your time, Raphael. It's already over." A new voice spoke up, which made Raphael stop in his tracks.

"Uh Raph...it's-." Garchomp started.

"I know who it is, damn it." The black haired student frowned, gritting his teeth. "One of the many sources of my hate, my dear brother Michael."

**A short chapter what with life going on for me, but a good starter I'd like to think. You're more than welcome to analyze and read between the lines as to what may happen next. You'll also be introduced to a few other characters by next chapter, one of whom was mentioned. Reviews are always helpful and I am still accepting of entries, both student and teacher/faculty. I'm moreso looking for more older characters rather than students, and I'm overall accepting 5 or 6 more OCs but I'll take what I can get given their quality. Stay tuned for more.**

**Leo Cromwell and Lyra Strøh - Mine**

**Ashelia Faradrim - Shadowwolf223**

**Michael and Raphael Evermore - alucard deathsinger**

**Illyanna Charlotte Curis - ChillyIce**


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